Kalmar Service Heroes: Thomas Regeer, Netherlands

"My friends all think my job is really cool, because you get everywhere, servicing some of the biggest machines on Earth," says Thomas Regeer (23), who works as a Kalmar technician based in Rotterdam. "And it's true that's kind of special about this work."

Thomas is responsible for servicing and maintaining Kalmar's ship-to-shore cranes at Rotterdam's Maasvlakte container terminal, along with various types of mobile equipment. His job regularly takes him all across the Netherlands as well as abroad, from Belgium and Great Britain to Curaçao in the Dutch Caribbean.

Despite his young age, Thomas already has two years of work experience at Kalmar. His career journey is somewhat unconventional because even though he works as a highly qualified technician, he didn't follow the traditional path of technical education.  

"This job actually came about because I wasn't really in school", Thomas says. "I don't like school so I started looking for work, and when I was 17 I got a job with a company in my hometown that worked on cranes. I then ended up joining Kalmar at the age of 21."

Rising to the challenge

 In addition to receiving training at his job positions, Thomas completed various courses to acquire the technical qualifications required for his work. His first job at Kalmar was through an agency, but he soon found his skills in high demand at the company's service organisation.

 "Thomas did so well during his first year that we were happy to invite him to join Kalmar on a permanent basis," says Bouke Linssen, Technical Supervisor of Service Projects at Kalmar. "He's young and enthusiastic, willing to learn and picks up new things very quickly. He loves the adventure of each day and is always ready for whatever challenge our work brings us."

 
Working as a service technician, Thomas feels at home in the often hectic world of port and terminal logistics. "It's a lot of fun to interact with different customers because they all handle things in their own way. When everything goes smoothly and at the end of the day you can be proud of yourself for getting the job done, that's just a great feeling. Also, I love the 24/7 movement at the ports. If we're working on something at night, we'll be on top of the crane and you have this amazing view all around you."

Future opportunities

 Over his two years at Kalmar, Thomas has enjoyed the technical and geographical scope of his work as a service technician. "Kalmar is a big organization and a lot of things are possible when you work here. You get to go to all these interesting places and it's really quite a spectacular job. So, yes, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in this line of work."

 As for the future, Thomas envisions new challenges but at the moment, he's happiest with hands-on service and maintenance work.

 "I think my dream job would be something at Kalmar engineering. At some point it would be nice to have a combination of office and field work, but right now I'm still a bit too wild for that, and my paperwork maybe needs a bit more practice too," he laughs. "But maybe someday I'll be able to sit in the office as well!"